Page selection

When you run Trim And Shift you are first asked which pages to work on. You can select all pages, a single page or a range of pages. You can also select to work on even only, or odd only.

If you want to process both even and odd pages, but in different ways, you need to run Trim And Shift Twice.

You can also choose to create a new document, leaving the original untouched.

Advanced options

The Advanced button on the first Trim And Shift page allows you to choose between two modes of operation.

1.      In Original mode ("same as 1.0") trim and shift can uncover information that was previously cropped. In addition only the page origin is moved, so annotations, form fields etc. stay in the same place. This has the side effect that when exporting PostScript the image origin shifts, so trim and shift sometimes can't be used to adjust the printed image position.

2.      In Improved mode, trim and shift will never uncover information previously cropped, so cropping can't accidentally be lost. Additionally, the page contents are moved rather than the origin, which is set to the bottom left of a printed sheet. This means annotations etc. may move. But it should also mean more consistent PostScript printing.

No single choice will suit everyone, so you should examine them to see which one meets your needs.

Trimming options

`Trimming" also includes enlarging pages. You can select one of these options.

• Do not trim . You may choose this if you only want to shift.
• Trim space from the edge of pages . You select which edge, and the amount to trim. Note that the units (inches, mm, or points) are those set in General Preferences.
• Add extra space around the edge of pages . Unlike the existing cropping tools, you can make a page larger than its original size. In this case the contents of the new area will typically be white, but where objects originally extended off the page the result is unpredictable (Distiller may remove some, but not all, such objects). If undesirable details are exposed you can cover them using Stick On Masking Tape .
• Make all pages the same size . Pages are enlarged or cropped to fit a specific size. The existing page is centred, and may be cut off if it is too large.

Shifting options.

You can choose one of the following options. Note that, as with trimming, the units (inches, mm, or points) are those set in General Preferences.

• Do not shift . Use this if you only want to trim.
• Shift the contents of each page by a fixed amount . This is often needed to allow for binding. Often, even and odd pages need to be shifted separately. You choose the direction (up, down, left or right) and the amount to shift.
• Shift the contents by a variable amount. You choose the direction, and the amount to shift the first and last pages. All pages in between are shifted in proportion.

When binding a document by folding each sheet, it will cause the contents on the page to shift across depending on where they are in the booklet. Sometimes, it is desirable to adjust for this so pages still line up in the bound copy. This is called “creep”. This has always been available as part of Trim & Shift, but this is for compatibility with old versions only. We now recommend using the dedicated Creep function, which also includes new features such as optional scaling instead of shifting.

Keep bleed margins (4.0)

Trim & Shift has always removed bleed information, if present. This is because the bleed area is usually made specially and is of limited size, so moving the pages will typically move the bleed area out of its original place.

Also, imposition will use the bleed area to find the area to impose. If the bleed area simply shifted with the contents, the same area would be imposed, and the Trim & Shift would seem to be ignored.

We do sometimes hear from customers who want to work within these limitations and still keep bleed. Under Advanced options there is a new Keep bleed margins the same option. With this option, the trim or shift is done as normal, and a new bleed definition is added. To work out the new bleed size, we first look at the bleed offsets on all four edges. The bleed margin is the bleed area relative to the page size. After trimming or shifting the bleed is put back at the same space.

(Technically, we examine the BleedBox, TrimBox and ArtBox, relative to the CropBox, or MediaBox if there is no CropBox. The distance between the CropBox and the first three boxes is saved, on all four edges, and after trimming or shifting, the BleedBox, TrimBox and/or ArtBox are recreated using the new CropBox and the same distance on each edge).

Use this option with caution, and generally only with very small shifts or trims.

About links and bookmarks

Few of the functions in Quite Imposing will leave bookmarks and links undamaged. Trim And shift will, however, keep links valid provided you do not ask it to create a new document, and provided you chose "original" under Advanced options.

Warning: about uncovering information

By using the Trim And Shift function, you can cause information to become visible which was previously off the edge of the page (if "original" is chosen from Advanced options). There is nothing wrong with doing this if you are uncovering an area which was previous cropped or trimmed in Acrobat.

It is potentially risky to uncover information outside the original page area. The reason is that there is no guarantee you will find anything there. In order to reduce file sizes, both Acrobat Distiller and your page make-up application may have removed information, so if you expand the page you might see nothing.

Tests with Distiller suggest that it removes any object - including characters forming part of a word - which is completely outside the original page size (also called the "media box"). However, it appears not to trim solid objects or pictures, which extend off the edge.

You should bear in mind that this behaviour might change in future, so it is not wise to base a long term strategy on being able to find information outside the media box.

The same applies to the use of Tile pages .